or!Ryan!rechecking!buildings!after!we!had!cleared!them.!It!was!hard!for!us!to!use!the!bathroom!with! someone!only!a!couple!of!feet!away,!but!we!were!quickly!becoming!more!comfortable!with!each!other! with!each!passing!day.! When!everyone!was!ready!to!depart,!Jake!pulled!open!the!outside!door.!The!sun!shone!brightly! now!and!our!eyes!had!to!adjust.!Tianna!grumbled!as!we!started!taking!the!first!steps!out!the!door.!We! all!knew!we!had!a!long!day!of!walking!ahead!of!us.!We!walked!in!a!straight!line;!Jake!would!lead!the!way! and!I!would!follow!directly!behind!him.!The!other!girls!would!walk!in!the!middle!and!Ryan!would!follow! in!the!rear!with!his!pitchfork!in!hand.!I!would!stare!for!hours!at!Jake’s!back!while!we!walked.!He!carried! all!our!supplies!and!food,!as!well!as!his!bow.!I!wondered!how!heavy!it!must!have!been!and!how!Jake! could!carry!it!every!day!without!complaining.! We!were!heading!west;!none!of!us!really!knew!where!to.!We!all!had!managed!to!find!each!other! from!different!places!and!west!just!seemed!like!the!best!idea.!Ryan!came!from!the!city!in!the!east!and! after!hearing!about!that!place,!we!wanted!to!get!as!far!away!from!it!as!possible.!The!floodplain!also! seemed!to!be!the!safest!place!for!us!to!go.!The!mud!made!traveling!a!very!slow!and!difficult!process,!but! the!same!could!be!said!for!the!Monsters!moving!around.!They!seemed!to!have!just!as!much!difficulty!as! we!did.!The!floodplain!was!also!a!safer!place!to!be!because!most!people,!animals,!and!Monsters!were! killed!in!the!initial!flood.!A!majority!of!the!buildings!in!the!area!were!destroyed!as!well.!It!was!easy!to! see!far!distances!in!all!directions!as!we!walked.!All!the!landscape!was!covered!in!a!thick!layer!of!mud.! We!could!spot!danger!from!a!distance!or!find!shelter!for!the!night.!! Jake!would!guide!us!west,!and!we!would!try!to!walk!as!much!as!possible!until!the!sun!was!close! to!setting.!At!that!time!we!would!find!shelter!for!the!night.!The!shelter!wasn’t!always!comfortable,!but! Jake!always!found!us!somewhere!safe!to!stay.!The!first!day!was!really!slow!moving.!Tianna!was! extremely!annoying!while!walking.!She!would!often!cry!and!complain!that!her!feet!hurt,!or!that!she!was! hungry,!or!that!she!was!tired.!Michelle!and!I!would!try!and!talk!to!her!and!tell!her!it!would!be!okay.!Jake! would!simply!ignore!her.!At!first!I!thought!he!was!a!jerk!for!doing!so,!but!at!that!point!in!our!journey,!we! all!simply!ignored!her.!We!would!all!just!stare!at!the!person!in!front!of!us!and!follow!Jake!in!silence.! The!day!was!rather!uneventful.!We!were!away!from!any!of!the!small!towns!and!seemed!to!be! travelling!through!what!used!to!be!a!farmer’s!field.!Every!once!in!awhile!we!would!come!across!a! destroyed!fence!that!we!would!have!to!help!each!other!over.!Someone!would!always!seem!to!lose!a! shoe!in!the!mud!as!well.!We!would!have!to!stop!and!help!dig!the!shoe!out.!It!happened!so!frequently! that!it!began!to!be!funny!to!us.!We!would!all!laugh!at!the!person!as!they!hopped!around!on!one!foot! until!someone!would!help.!Michelle!usually!volunteered!to!help,!unless!it!was!her!foot!stuck!in!the!mud.! She!told!us!stories!of!how!she!had!to!help!her!dad!pull!animals!out!of!the!mud!near!a!large!watering! hole!in!one!of!their!fields.!During!certain!times!of!year,!the!ground!was!extra!spongy!and!one!of!the!barn! animals!would!always!wander!too!deep!into!it.!Michelle!would!pretend!we!were!a!cow!stuck!in!the!mud,! and!it!would!make!all!of!us!laugh.!She!had!a!way!of!pulling!perfect!faces!for!a!funny!situation.! At!some!point!in!the!afternoon,!Jake!spotted!a!barn!in!the!distance.!We!spent!the!next!half!an! hour!or!so!walking!toward!it.!The!barn!was!used!to!store!bales!of!hay.!The!bales!were!stacked!twenty!or! so!feet!high.!The!barn!had!fallen!over!slightly!from!the!flood,!but!the!bales!had!held!it!up.!The!bottom! layer!or!two!of!hay!were!rotten!and!covered!in!mud.!The!barn!seemed!to!be!the!only!place!for!shelter!in! a!great!distance.!It!was!a!bit!earlier!in!the!day!than!we!would!normally!stop!for!the!night,!but!Jake!was! worried!we!might!not!find!another!place!before!sundown.!Jake!had!Michelle!and!Tianna!wait!with!his! pack!a!little!ways!away!from!the!barn.!They!sat!in!the!mud!and!talked!quietly!together.!They!were! becoming!really!close.!Whenever!we!had!to!check!out!a!new!place,!they!had!to!wait!safely!away! together.!This!gave!them!a!lot!of!time!to!talk!and!play!quietly!together.!They!would!make!mud!pies!or! play!“patty!cake”!with!each!other!while!they!waited.! Jake!led!the!way!with!shovel!in!hand.!Ryan!and!I!followed.!We!approached!the!barn!and!walked! toward!the!large!opening!on!one!side.!There!was!no!door!to!the!barn;!it!simply!had!three!walls!and!a!
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